The phenomenon of fake news is to be investigated by a group of influential MPs following concerns that knowingly false articles posing as journalism could become a threat to democracy.

The inquiry, launched by the House of Commons culture, media and sport committee, will seek to determine an industry-standard definition of fake news, identify those susceptible to being misled and investigate how the BBC might have a bearing on its proliferation in the UK.

It will also examine whether search engines and social media companies, such as Google, Twitter and Facebook, need to take more of a responsibility in controlling fake news, and whether the selling and placing of advertising on websites has encouraged its growth.

Conservative MP Damian Collins, chair of the culture, media and sport committee, said: “The growing phenomenon of fake news is a threat to democracy and undermines confidence in the media in general.

“Just as major tech companies have accepted they have a social responsibility to combat piracy online and the illegal sharing of content, they also need to help address the spreading of fake news on social media platforms. Consumers should also be given new tools to help them assess the origin and likely veracity of news stories they read online.

“The committee will be investigating these issues, as well as looking into the sources of fake news, what motivates people to spread it, and how it has been used around elections and other important political debates.”

Fake news is widely considered to be the proliferation, through social media and the internet, of inaccurate and untruthful news stories, sometimes written by outlets posing as legitimate media organisations.

After the US presidential election, the phenomenon received widespread attention, with the Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton commenting that fake news had become an “epidemic”.

According to the research, of the known false news stories that appeared in the three months before the election, those favouring Trump were shared a total of 30m times on Facebook, while those favouring Clinton were shared 8m times.

Analysis by Buzzfeed also showed there was a huge spike in engagement with fake news during the final three months of the campaign when compared with reports from outlets such as the New York Times, the Washington Post and CNN.

A conspiracy theory spread on fake news websites that Clinton and the Democratic party were operating a paedophile ring out of a pizza restaurant in Washington. This led to a gunman opening fire on the Comet Ping Pong establishment in early December; no one was hurt.

The interest in fake news has grown since the term entered the mainstream. Trump took to Twitter at the weekend to make his latest assault on the press, stating that the “fake news and failing” New York Times should be bought by someone who might run it correctly.

Trump, and many of his followers, have turned the phrase on its head and use it to condemn the mainstream media.

Last week, the Trump aide Steve Bannon, formerly chairman of the far-right Breitbart News website and now a counsel to the president, also called the mainstream media “the opposition party” to the current administration.

But fake news is not confined to America. In December in the UK, the England rugby star James Haskell was forced to deny news stories that emerged on social media that he had died of a steroid overdose. Haskell called the reports “absolute rubbish”.

In January, a Labour party inquiry was launched into the practice. Michael Dugher, the MP who is leading the inquiry, wrote in the Guardian that “the Labour party, who have so often been on the wrong side of misrepresentation and unfair attacks from the rightwing media, have a responsibility to be vigilant and reject fake news material on social media and elsewhere – even if it purports to come from the left”.

The inquiry is due to report in the spring. It will look at the practical, political and ethical questions raised by fake news, as well as examining what more social media and news websites could be doing to make sure readers see a wider variety of views.